LONDON: Elon Musk has announced a new policy that will see Twitter banning impersonators from the platform if they are not clearly labeled as parodying others, as confusion grows over the social media firm’s future. “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” Musk tweeted on Sunday. Since the self-proclaimed “Chief Twit” last week announced that the platform will start charging $8 for verifying accounts, several “blue-check” users have flocked to the platform to impersonate Musk himself. On Monday, Twitter temporarily banned comedian Kathy Griffin for impersonating Musk after she used his name and image in her own verified account. Other verified users impersonating Musk, including Jeph Jacques, Sarah Silverman, and Mad Men star Rich Sommer, also appear to have been kicked off the site. “I guess not all content moderators were let go? LOL,” the American comedian and actress joked in a post on Mastodon, an alternative to Twitter and other social media sites which have enjoyed a surge in popularity since Musk’s takeover of Twitter.Musk said Twitter previously issued a warning before the suspension, but as it is rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning as well as “no exceptions.”This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue,” Musk said, adding that any name change at all will cause temporary loss of the verified checkmark. After Griffin’s suspension, Musk joked that she had been banned “for impersonating a comedian.” “But if she really wants her account back, she can have it,” the Tesla CEO wrote in a pair of follow-up tweets. “For $8.” Prior to Musk’s era, Twitter rules already stated that users “may not impersonate individuals, groups or organizations to mislead, confuse or deceive others, nor use a fake identity in a manner that disrupts the experience of users on Twitter.” Parody accounts were required to include this information in both their accounts and their bios, and consequences for not abiding by the rules include profile moderation, temporary suspension, and permanent ban, though the latter was rarely adopted.The parody bans also appear to contradict Musk’s promise that no “major content decisions would be made before the formation of a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.” Twitter on Saturday updated its app in Apple’s App Store to begin charging $8 for sought-after blue check verification marks as it seeks to shore up revenue. But earlier on Sunday, sources reported Twitter is delaying the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new service until after Tuesday’s midterm elections. In a sign of more confusion following the change of ownership, Twitter is now reaching out to dozens of employees who have lost their jobs and asking them to return.